Boosting retirement returns in a low interest-rate environment

With interest rates at historic lows — and projected to remain low — investing for retirement can be a challenge.

Traditionally safe investments, such as money market accounts and treasury bonds, deliver very low income, but investors seeking higher returns may feel uncomfortable adopting a less conservative approach.

To achieving returns and minimizing risk in the current market, my colleague, Wade, provides practical insight and important tips in a new video, “Returns In Retirement” from Bank of the West Wealth Management Group.

Let’s review a few current realities:

• Market rates on money market accounts are around 0.5%.
• Treasury bonds are providing around 3% return.
• With longer expected lifespans, investors may need to re-evaluate the traditional asset allocation.

As a result, you may find these 3 tips worth considering:

• Achieving higher returns may require more proactive monitoring of the investments and adjustments to the portfolio.
• Boosting income in a low-yield environment may require a more diversified portfolio — including equities.
• Investors may consider other types of bonds — floating-rate notes, certain forms of high-yield debt, and bonds backed by adjustable rate mortgages.

For more professional insight and valuable investment tips, view the “Returns in Retirement” video here (click image below).